Eton Wick Youth Club 75th Anniversary

The Former Youth Club Member who attended the 75th anniversary celebration. 

A report by Helen Branscombe-Davies

Thank you to all the past members of Eton Wick Youth Club who came along to the 75th Anniversary event yesterday evening at the Village Hall.

Dorothea Vaughan

Almost to the day, 75 years ago, our Youth Club was formed in the shadow of World War 2. It was revolutionary in at least two ways. Firstly, it was a mixed club with both sexes replacing the young men only club established pre-war by village benefactor Toddy Vaughan. Secondly, the age limit was set at 21 which meant conscripted men were eligible. The Youth Club was established with Dorothea Vaughan, Toddy's widow, as President so Eton Wick was an early supporter of gender equality.

Our Youth Club has since had an illustrious history with well over 1,000 young villagers being members over the 75 years and all based at our ancestral home, the Eton Wick Village Hall.

Today, in the shadow of the pandemic, youth clubs face different challenges in a different world. After 75 years the Eton Wick Youth Club is currently dormant with possibilities for a future relaunch being assessed. Last night we acknowledged the past and shared fond memories of the youth club throughout the decades. We look forward to embracing the future which could be as part of a Community Hub in our Village with activities supporting a great variety of age and interest groups.

We realised too late into the evening that we should have organised a register of attendees with names and dates of Youth Club attendance. If you are able to help us, put together this information then please leave a message in the comments box at the end of this article, thanks.

Several past Youth Club members brought photographs of activities that they remember and are shared with this article. The cups and trophies will be cleaned, and I will post a photo when they are all restored.

EWYC - Adelphi Slough -1956

May 1957
Barrie Watts as May Queen with
Alan Quartherman and Barry Hood as his
attendants.Tony Clark as the Mayoress.

May 1957

Youth Club Football Team - Undated

Youth Club Camps

EWYC Camp1956

EWYC Camp1957

EWYC Camp1959

EYWC Zennor Arms 1959

EWYC Camp year unknown

EWYC Camp year unknown

1961

Lands End 5th August 1966

Other article about the Eton Wick Youth Club can be found elsewhere on this website. 

Frank Bond, the founding Chairman of the Eton Wick History Group was leader of the Youth Club for many years. He wrote of himself for Recall 60 Years On: Eton Wick WWII Ex-Service Men and Women.

"Socially in my green years I tried to serve youth, and in my grey years, the seniors. In the late 1940s I developed an interest in village youth football that led me to being the Youth Club Leader from 1951 to 1961 and then the Chairman. This resulted in 'Wicko' Carnivals 1967-81 initially to raise Youth Club funds for a building project."

Photographic History - Eton Wick Youth Club

The photograph is of the Club's 1948 outing to Margate. In the back row left to right is the Windsorian driver (name unknown), then Harry Wakefield (secretary), Frank Bond and Harry Pearce (committee members), Des Russell, Mrs Pearce, 'Chub' Bennett, Mrs Wakefield, Dennis Phillips, Bill Ingram, Mrs Hall, Ann Bright, Ray Haverly, Sheila Robertson and Sheila Spiers, ?, and Cecil Thorn (committee member). In the front are Alan Smith, 'Cooie' Barton, Mike Thorn, Bob Snaichel, Peter Frost, Phil Harding, John Newport, Eileen Bolton, Vic Merkett and Ray Mumford. The two young girls on the left are unidentified, the two on the right are Monica Pearce and Julie Wakefield. 

Eton Wick Youth Club members cutting logs for the aged in 1956. Sawing logs: Geoff Pardoe, Mike Knight, and sitting on the timber is John Alder. The axeman is Bill Critchell. 

From 1955, club boys chopped logs and delivered them to the aged. In 1956 alone over 11,000 logs were delivered. Trees available for logging were notified to the club by the Council and Eton College. Club girls supplied the loggers with refreshments. For its services the club was awarded the Hospital Saturday Fund Cup, received a written commendation from the Buckinghamshire County Council Chief Education Officer and was featured in the National Boys Clubs press (see picture). The Club age range at the time was 14 to 21 years. By the end of the 20th century, the age range had reduced considerably, partly by the introduction of a junior club in the 1960s, and partly as a reflections of nationwide social changes. 

The campers are at the back, left to right: Des Russell, Frank Bond, Mick Phillips, Andy Lewis, Terry Harman, Les Hood, John Jeffries, Don Middleton, Cecil Thorn, and George Lund. In the centre row: Tony Clibbon, Ron Branwhite, `Mo' (Maurice) Nicholls, Jacquie Hodge, Val Bailey, Norah Sumner, Joyce Russell, Margaret Wilson, Tony Johnson and Conway Sutton. In the front: Geoff Pardoe, Richard Jordan, Tony Gallop, Terry O'Flaherty and Ian Lewis. 

Eton Wick Youth Club Camp, St Ives 1958. For many years the Youth Club held an annual two week summer camp in Cornwall. The club worked hard to raise funds to buy camping equipment. In these days the cost to the members varied according to age and was typically (rail and coach fares inclusive) from £8 for 15 year olds, rising to £16 for 18 year olds and adult helpers. 

Eton Wick Youth Club Camp 1962 In the back row from the left: Derek Harrison, Ray Emery, Ted Turner*, John Stacey, John Betterton, Richard Jordan, Les Emery, Arthur Gittens, John Newell, Ian Wilson*. John Lee, unidentified*. Centre row Peter Tarrant, unidentified, Colin Harrison, Barry Alder, John Alder, Fraser Hatch, John Durbin, Jim Alder, Frank Ormond, Willy Welford, unidentified*, unidentified*, John Gittens, Frank Bond, Mick Bell. Seated in the front: Nancy Sharp, Christine Drewett, Susan Miller, Carol Cullum, Caroline Miller, Susan Jordan, Jennifer Paintin, Margaret Wilson, Joyce and Des Russell with their son Ian. 

The photograph opposite was taken at the popular club camp site on John and Kitty Roger's 'Hellesveor' Farm, St Ives, Cornwall. Although only four years after the 1958 club camp photograph shown elsewhere, there is virtually a new 'generation' of members. Those marked with an asterisk * are members of Denham Youth Club, who joined in several annual camps as for a time, Frank Bond was also the Club Leader at Denham. A few years after this photo, Derek Harrison with his family ran a restaurant and fish and chip bar at the sea front in nearby Perranporth; elder brother Colin emigrated to South Africa. 

Eton Wickers may remember Ian Wilson and Ted Turner (Denham members), Ian worked in the Bond's greengrocery shop in Eton Wick, subsequently becoming manager of one of their other shops; Ted became owner of KBG Engineering in Alma Road. Richard Jordan and sister Susan emigrated to New Zealand, and John Gittens to Canada. 

Christine Drewett and Les Emery, John Betterton and Nancy Sharp, and Colin Harrison and Margaret Wilson (daughter of Councillor Ivy Wilson, no relation to Ian Wilson) subsequently became partners in marriage. 

It is noticeable how many Eton and Eton Wick family names of the 19th century are still represented in this 1962 photograph. (There are seven surnames that appear in the 19th century census records and three in the 1901 and 1911 census or the 1939 Register)

Many of the village's former teenagers from the 1950s onwards will have happy memories of their days as members of the Youth Club. The club also attracted members from surrounding towns and villages. Quite a number of members in fact went on to marry their fellow club members. In this picture, Frank Bond, club leader from 1950 to 1961 and chairman for many years after that, receives a presentation to mark his retirement as chairman from Chris Foreman and Val Chamberlain (to become future married partners). In the centre is Mike Newlands, former leader and new chairman. To the right of Frank is Patron and former chairman Jim Ireland and club member turned leader, Geoff Low. 

From left to right are Frank Bond, Richard and Carol, Mike Newland, John Lovell, Geoff Low and on the right, the then current leader, by this time paid and appointed by the County. 

There are six leaders or former leaders of Eton Wick Youth Club in this photograph, taken c1987 at a reunion when former club members, ex-leader and marriage partners Richard and Carol (née Chamberlain) Jordan returned from New Zealand for a holiday. After being a club member in the 1950s, Richard took on the leadership of the club and later became a full time youth worker at the Hook, Chessington Youth Club before emigrating to New Zealand in the 1970s where he initially continued with his full time youth work. 

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

You can find other articles on Eton Wick History that mention the Youth Club by clicking on this link.

If you were a member of the Eton Wick Youth Club please share your memories in the comment box below.

Our Village April 2012 - Village Clubs and Groups

The Way Things Were

During a recent tidy-up of files and folders on Eton Wick I came upon a listing of organisations; groups and clubs dating back to the early 1800's. Part of this list was the work of the old Eton Urban Council — pre 1974, and part of it we produced in the 'Pictorial History of Eton Wick' book published in the year 2000. There are now quite sixty groups etc; on the list, and I do not pretend the list to be complete. Many may pose the question of how they originated and what caused their demise. Others may need to reinvent their title to be acceptable in today's world. This of course includes a 'Minstrel' and a 'Black and White' Minstrel group which were Eton Wick concert parties before and after the Great War of 1914 -18. Perhaps there was a social need for concert groups after the family disruptions of wars, because after the Second World War 1939 — 45, the village again had concert groups such as "The Unity Players" and "The Shoestrings". The need to raise funds also prompted some of these groups, as it did with the annual Scout fetes and gymkhanas; the Village Hall fetes, and 'The Wicko Carnivals'.

Looking at sports groups, the first mention I have of a local club is the Eton Excelsior Rowing Club dating back to at least 1826. Sports in the village did not really feature before the 1880s - around 1882 the first mention of a village football club and 1889 when the cricket club originated. Both clubs played their home fixtures on the common, there being no recreation ground until 1904. Undoubtedly there would have been some local opposition to the common being used on the grounds of Lammas misuse.

Both the Eton Wick and the Eton Recreation Grounds were purchased with accumulated funds accrued principally with the Great Western Railway compensation for the loss of Lammas rights when the viaduct was built around 1846. Eton Wick's ground, opening in 1904. Not until the village had a recreation area could it really be feasible to have regular organised sports, although it is doubtful if the small population could have fielded team sports much sooner.

The first organised group mentioned is dated 1811. Not sport and not recreation but a 'Friendly Society' at the Three Horse Shoes, which lasted for at least 12 years. This was believed to be the first of various support motivated groups, although with the low wages of that time, probably not affordable to all. It cost five shillings (25p) to enroll and a monthly payment of one shilling and nine pence (9p). In return there was a weekly payout of ten shillings and sixpence (52p) in times of sickness, for up to six months, reducing thereafter. The other pubs later introduced similar schemes which in one form or another existed until the mid-20' century; after which time the state ensured social security, and the said 'Slate Clubs' or 'Didtem Clubs' as they were known, went into decline. Other groups of a 'support' nature included 'The Temperance Guild' c. 1884; 'The Mother's Union' (1902) and the Infant Welfare 1915. Sped groups were Football c.1882; Cricket 1889; Rifle Club 1899; Harriers 1907; Tennis Club 1930; Badminton P.T.A. c.1960; Indoor Bowls 1991 and The Nomads 1949.

The Nomads were a cycle camper group of youths within the Youth Club, and the name was that used for registered membership within the Camping Club of Great Britain. They existed for about four years and cycle camped to the coast; the Isle of Wight; and twice toured the Cornish Coast — the West Coast, Land's End, Lizard, Plymouth and the coast home. In 1952 they toured an area in North France. Youth Club ages were appreciably different at that time, with all members being aged 15 — 21. Before we look at more village youth groups it is appropriate in this Olympic year to mention the Harriers Club of 1907. The following year of 1908 the Olympics came to Britain, and a villager competed in the marathon race. The 26 mile course was Windsor to London and the runner was Edwin Stacey, the second youngest son of the 'Shepherd's Hut' landlord. Incidentally our bird man, Bill Stacey, is a relative.

Of the Rifle Club it is claimed they had some very good competitors and in fact qualified tocompete at Wisley. Unfortunately they were not a good match for the other teams who were using Vernia sights on their rifles, which the 'Wicks' team had no experience of. Both the Harriers and Rifle Club had the support of the village benefactor, Edward Littleton Vaughan, who gave his time and generosity to Eton Wick and in particular to its youth. He promoted a young men's club in the redundant old school building and when in 1903 the site and building were purchased for a shop he made Wheatbutts Cottage and orchard available to the Harriers and Rifle clubs, meanwhile giving the site and building for the Village Hall (then The Institute) that we still take pride in today. It is believed Mr Vaughan was Eton Wick and Boveney's first Scout Master. He certainly had the village group at summer camp near Weymouth at the outbreak of the Great War of 1914 — 18. In 1935 at the age of 86 he started a boys club in the village. His club leaders were a local guards' sergeant and Mr Les Moreby. Unfortunately the club closed after two years when Les left the 'Wick' to take up an appointment as Boys' Leader in the newly opened and nationally prestigious Slough Community Centre.

In 1939 came the war. Our village hall was taken over for evacuees and classrooms; the recreation ground was ploughed and used for cereal growing; there were complete blackouts and many men went into the war. Others not enlisted for health or essential war work reasons all had to take on other duties such as Home Guard; Fire Service Wardens; Air Wardens; or Messengers.

Consequently, many clubs and organisations fell into decline; some never to recover. One such being the Tilston Tennis Club. Their courts were behind the village hall on the exact site of todays' large youth club games hall. After the war the youth club attempted to repair or replace the rusted and dilapidated court fencing; all to no avail. There had been allotments between the courts and the Boveney Ditch (south side of the Rec') and these were vacated in the 1950s. I presume the vacation was influenced by the building of Princes Close on the Brewers' Field c.1953-4.

Youth groupings very much included Boy Scouts; Cubs; Guides and Brownies - the uniformed groups. These were quick to establish after the war and of course much aided by having their own hutted quarters in the N.W. comer of Wheatbutts orchard (now Wheatbutts estate). Sadly arson destroyed most of the Scouting records/photos etc., in later years.

Socialist Britain in the post WW2 years established Advisory Committees to oversee youth services. Locally the committee found little to do in the Eton Wick scouting set up, so concentrated on the youth club, as a mixed sex organisation. In the first five years the club had full time paid leaders that could be barely justified in a time of post war austerity. By 1951 this had changed, and I was appointed the unprofessional club leader, receiving nine shillings (45p) an evening as recompense.

There have been other youth groups in the village run by the Church of St. John the Baptist and the Methodists. Later the Catholic Church formed a group of 'Charlie's Angels' but as is the modern trend, for a younger age range. In my youth the Sunday Schools were a big issue in the village, but I think perhaps the main reasons were twofold. Firstly, families were large and it was convenient to know where the children were on Sundays, and secondly the 'Sunday School annual outings'. There were no family cars, so without an outing we rarely left the immediate neighbourhood. Before charabancs and coaches the annual outing was to Burnham Beeches and transport was by coal cart. The horse drawn coal carts were used because they had low platforms, suitable for the coal merchants easy lifting on his back.

The Methodist Chapel were the first to use motor coaches to the seaside. This was around 1932-3. Oh! how we envied them, as most of us had never seen the sea. Within two years St. John's had matched the chapels' coast trips, so we were then able to argue the merits of which was best.

Many villagers of eighty plus years ago would never have gone far beyond where their legs would take them, and undoubtedly the initial attraction of young men volunteering for war in 1914 had more to do with the thought of seeing France and Belgium than the mortal conflict. Social groupings in Eton Wick included The Working Mens' Club, 1890's; The Sisterhood early 1900's; The Womens' Recreation Club c.1925; The Over 60s Club c.1950; Young Wives Group c.1940's; The Mens' Club c.1930's and The Ladies Club c.1960.

There are two entries under music. The Fife & Drum Band c.1890 and The Crusader Skiffle Group c. late 1950's. There are several others, some still exist today. Perhaps the latest is The knit and natter' group held at the library. Not all the groups have had a mention as I have to keep an eye on the magazine space I can reasonably use. Perhaps as a last thought I should say that football had just one mention but there have been at least five different football clubs and probably more. 

By Frank Bond

Click here to read Our Village April 2012.

This article was originally published in the Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village as is republished with the kind permission of the Eton Wick Village Hall Committee. Click here to go to the Collection page.

Tough Assignment - The 1960's and the 80th Anniversary of the Chapel

By the sixties the pace of life was recognisably changing once again. Membership of the chapel continued to rise, reaching forty-three in the summer of 1962, when eight new members joined - all ladies. A Ladies Club had been formed the year before, though the two events were not directly connected. The club met, as it still does, fortnightly in the Tough Memorial Hall. Mrs Hilda Paice became its first president. Meanwhile the Sisterhood consisting of the older generation of ladies, remained the backbone of chapel life. The 60s though, will be remembered mostly for the great rummage sales for missions which were organised by Harry Cook when many hundreds of pounds were raised for this worthy cause.

Chapel Membership

The Sunday School was still well attended, though not as well as in previous years. Numbers had dropped to about seventy again. There was now considerable competition for the children's interests. Homework, family outings and even a rival Sunday School run by the Gospel Tabernacle were all offered as reasons for the falling numbers, but these were merely the echo of the reports being given in churches and chapels all over the country. Sundays were changing and fewer parents were willing to send their children regularly to Sunday School. There had been a time when a significant proportion of the parents, consciously or unconsciously, used the chapel to gain an hour or two of quiet at home, but now many of the new generation of parents with more leisure time were using Sundays as a day for family outings. The Sunday School had for some years been held only on Sunday afternoons, and now in an attempt to meet the changing circumstances the time was changed to Sunday mornings. Scripture exams, however, were still being taken and it was with pride that Miss Morris reported to the leaders meeting in May 1965 that 13 scholars and one teacher had sat examinations and that all had passed - three with honours and eight with first class results. The Cradle Roll listed seventeen names and there was an expectation that five or six more would soon be added. It was suggested at the leaders meeting that mothers of new babies should be approached and asked if they would consider having their baby christened at the chapel, and even if the child was christened at the Church of England his or her name could be added to the Cradle Roll if the parents were willing. Some reservations -for this were expressed and it was hoped that in the future a kind of 'caring arrangement' might be initiated and the Cradle Roll kept for babies baptized into the Methodist Church. 

There were problems with the junior youth club, attendance was erratic and in 1963 it was reported that the club had not met during the last session. Meantime Mr Thorman had tried to form a club for the older children. Unfortunately, of the twelve youngsters who came to the first meeting, only two were Sunday School scholars, and the rest failed to respond to any encouragement to attend chapel. After some 6 to 9 months, it was felt that, since the main purpose of youth work was to bring young people in touch with Christ through the fellowship of the Church, the club was reluctantly discontinued. Two years later Mr Thorman tried once again to start a chapel youth club. He was determined that the club should be firmly attached to the chapel and aimed at creating a sense of Christian responsibility. The number of youngsters who joined was disappointingly small, but the club did meet for about two years and during that time made two cine films and several models. The club started its own car washing and gardening scheme to raise funds for the wooden annex extension which was built to accommodate the Beginners Sunday School Class.

The life of the chapel by its adult members shows an equally mixed picture. Dennis Nelson became a local preacher. Class meetings continued to be held on mid-week evenings in members' homes until in 1964 when alternate meetings were held in the chapel conducted by the Rev Kenneth Bate. Leaders' meetings began to be held quarterly instead of only once a year and the minutes revealed a little more about some of the activities, in particular those that concerned money raising. In 1964 the Overseas Missions raised £67, JMA over £93, Womens Work £43 and by weekly subscriptions the Ladies Club collected £62 for the Freedom from Hunger Campaign and nearly £5 for the Ivory Coast Hospital Scheme. Ever since the introduction of Poor Stewards in 1932 money had been collected for the sick members of the society and in October 1965 the minutes record that the income was £9 2s 8d that year and £3 2s 7d had been spent on gifts and flowers during sick visits. There is a reference to a bazaar being held one year and a coffee evening at the home of Mr & Mrs Peter Morris. This soon became a common way of raising money. There were mentions too of missionary meetings which included showing films and a Circuit Youth weekend at Henley to which four young people from Eton Wick were invited. Harvest Festivals, Chapel and Sunday School Anniversary services had always been part of the chapel programme, but sometime in the 1960s monthly Family services were introduced. At Christmas the annual Toy Service became a tradition and Sunday School children were encouraged to bring good quality toys of their own to give to children in need. The toys brought to these services were given to children in care at Fraton's Nursery, Maidenhead and later to Yewtrees Childrens Nursery in Slough.

With so much money raising perhaps it is not surprising to find the leaders meeting discussing the state of the general chapel finances and deciding to send letters to each member asking them to join the Envelope System if they had not already done so. At least £5 was needed each and every week for the normal running expenses. Meanwhile the trustees had committed the society to renovating the chapel itself. They had even considered the idea of re-building as part of the Eton Wick redevelopment scheme of the early 1960s. Instead, efforts were concentrated on raising money for a Sunday School Anniversary Service, 1960s new organ and a new wooden annex to replace the shed at the rear of the premises which had been used as a store for about ten years. Over £200 was raised for the organ when it was learnt that Mr Iona Smith, a considerable benefactor to the people of Slough and neighbourhood, was offering the chapel an organ as a gift. 

The gift was most gratefully received and the money put towards redecorating and re-equipping the chapel. The wooden annex built by Harry Cook and used mainly for the beginners Sunday School class has long been affectionately known as the 'Cook house'. A new pulpit was also built by Harry Cook from one brought from North Street Chapel at Winkfield which was closed in 1965. The moulding round the windows was showing its age and this was covered with panelling. Some walls in the schoolroom were replastered and the whole area repainted. Pews also taken from the North Street chapel replaced the original forms which had been used since the time that the chapel had opened. Thus, renovated and refurbished the chapel was re-opened with a rededication service held on 22nd June. At the thanksgiving meeting held in the evening the Dean of Windsor gave the address.

The chapel was now 80 years old, the same age as its leader, Mrs Annie Chew. She had been a society steward for thirty-six years and an active worker for much longer. Indeed, except for a few years just after her wedding, she had been part of the chapel life since she was two years old. But at last the connection was broken when she died on 26^th September 1966. At her memorial service she was remembered as a homemaker and churchmaker and the width of her vision and her love for other people. Only a few months before, her generosity had meant that the plans for a renovation of the chapel could go ahead without waiting until more money could be raised. To many people she was the chapel and with her death another ear had ended.

The Eton Wick History Group is most grateful for the kind permission given by the Eton Wick Methodist Chapel to republish this history, Tough Assignment on this website.

Our Village August 2011

The way things were — `Le jour du Fair' '

The day of the fair' was indeed the big day of most rural communities before the ownership of family cars. Eton Wick was no exception, although until about 130 years ago the village was probably not large enough to support regular events.

In 1878 some diverse social gatherings did take place and were considered worthy of recording. Firstly a political rally, and a steam circus, were held on the Common. I find this perhaps surprising, as at that time all villagers' were conscious of their Common's Rights and vehemently opposed any misuse. Again, a surprise that the small population was deemed adequate for a steam circus. Perhaps more importantly in 1878 Eton Wick held its first Horticultural Show, which predated the village recreation ground by several years; the allotments by 16 years and was 13 years before Eton Town's first Horticultural Show. Apart from war years the show became an annual event and with time, became ever more successful. By the 1930s it was the August Bank Holiday event held in Wheatbutts Orchard, often with a Guards' band; outdoor dancing, side shows; various pet classes on show: children's competitions of wildflowers, grass collection, mini gardens. needlework etc., and adult cookery entries of cakes, cooked vegetables, dinners etc. The allotment holders have revived the horticultural show in recent years but alas the days when every villager attended with enthusiasm have long since gone.

We will now look at the biggest of them all, the Wicko! carnivals. held between 1967 - 1981, at how they came about, why they stopped and ask "could they have survived?' The origin was certainly unusual and indirectly came about following the end of the Eton Wick cricket club in the 1960s.

The cricket club was long established; it played home matches at Saddocks Farm, had its own wood pavilion and regularly had very popular fixtures. Unfortunately, a possible move to the village recreation ground brought about the club's demise. They gave the mobile pavilion to the Eton Wick youth club, but unfortunately, village children burnt the building and the youth club duly claimed the insurance money of £600. At that time; and after ten years as the 'Club Leader' I was then its Chairman. The Adult Committee decided against a replacement pavilion but opted for a purpose-built Sports Hall to be built behind the Village Hall. The insurance money was inadequate so we decided to raise the money needed with a Recreation Ground based fete. The word 'fete' had been used by the scout movement and also the Village Hall in recent years so we settled on 'carnival'. That year of 1967 Canada had held an International Exhibition. logoed 'Expo! 67' so committee member Andy Skeels said we will call our carnival 'Wicko 67½'. Success came so we subsequently held 'Wicko 68'; 'Wicko 69' and so on. Publicity was pushed way beyond our locality and Mr. Jim Kinross of Manor Farm generously let us have the entire use of South Field as a free car park for the many hundreds of visitors at one event it was estimated a crowd in excess of 10,000 attended.

Of course events in the arena cost money and being held in the recreation ground no admission charge was possible, so as with the car park the event was virtually free to those not wanting to spend. There were, of course, side shows: fairground stalls and continuous arena entertainment. including music by a Scottish pipe band. a Caribbean steel band and a military band. There were go-cart rides: ladies wrestling: boxing: piano smashing competitions (inter pubs). a lively mock American civil war performed by the Civil War Re-enactment Group plus regular beauty queens and fancy dress shows. Also every year expert tug-of-war competitions. Wicko! attracted tug-of-war teams from far and wide - the midlands, west country and the London districts. With no experience of tug-of-war we were much indebted to the long-established Holyport organiser, Mr Charlie Aldridge, who guided us through the necessary 'know how' We were able to offer more attractive prizes to the teams through the good offices of Mr Stout, a villager who at that time had a substantial Reading based business trading suitably priced chinaware.

Within a few years we were able to build the youth club's sports hall and in a year or two, the carnivals were handed over to the Eton Wick Football Club who themselves needed funds to develop their newly built headquarters. The event probably needed much more work input than had been anticipated and it quickly fell into decline. Just one example was an Eton Council Officer giving his usual warning that he would inspect the recreation ground the day after a Wicko!. As usual, the same few cleared the site and with failing light, the crowds all gone: my brother Albert was driving our shop truck on the Rec and by its headlamps my two aging sisters were on hands and knees picking up the rubbish. Looking up we saw the Club customers with pints in hand looking from the clubhouse window and naturally, we mused they were saying "just look at those ..... fools'. Enough for Albert who said 'this is my last and of course his input had been overwhelming - making props, repairing stalls, painting etc., and always giving us new ideas

Like other village ladies my sisters had spent months knitting saleable items and later making cakes and jams. All these village happenings need keen workers and it is no use dreaming up ideas without the will to execute them.

Susan Lunn with Billy Walker

Could Wicko! have survived? I have always thought it may, but probably depended on a more positive initial approach. I always had the old village pre-war shows in my mind and when planning the first Wicko! I asked Mr Harry Cook, who organised the annual Horticultural Show, If they would combine with Wicko! for a Recreation Ground annual event and in return Wicko! would guarantee the marquee and prize expenses of the allotment event. Harry decided to keep his independence, for which I could appreciate. However, if it had joined with Wicko! there would have been permanence to the show that the 'quick fix' need for money may not have brought about the early demise. 

Incidentally, in 1969 the Sports Hall and Wicko! Carnival were opened by the British Heavyweight Boxing Champion 'Billy Walker'. He also judged the many young ladies' Beauty Queen Competition. He chose Susan Lund as the 'Queen' and Kathy Reader as runner-up. Both girls lived in Princes Close, and eleven youth organisations had girl entrants. Some years later both Susan and Kathy were married to the village twin brothers. Tony and Terry Skeels, who were, in fact, the sons of Andy Skeels who had given the first Wicko! its name. 

Frank Bond 

Footnote: To further the family connection, Susan is the Great Niece of Ernie Brown: the 22 year old remembered on the Village War Memorial.

Click here to read Our Village August 2011.

This article was originally published in the Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village as is republished with the kind permission of the Eton Wick Village Hall Committee. Click here to go to the Collection page.

The Eton Wick Newsletter - April 2017 - `Our Village' Magazine

Local Charities and a deadly consequence 

Surely many of Eton Wick's senior citizens will agree with me in acknowledging with gratitude the goodwill and generosity of the community and its organisations during the past winter. Some of course depend upon our own participation in happenings or clubs, and even the awareness of our existence. 

For me it started with a bag of harvest goodies donated and delivered by Eton College lads and followed by a Christmas tea and Christmas dinner at Bekynton, Eton, by the College and the Eton Charteris Day Centre respectively; another Christmas dinner at the 'Greyhound' pub by the village Over 60's Club,' and the Rotary Club provided a car driven evening trip to Squires Garden Centre where a band was playing carols, refreshments were free; and each of us given a card with cash to spend. 

Villagers kindly donated 'shoe box' packages of goodies which were delivered by the village scout movement, and then came vouchers from the Pote, Benwell and Simpson Trust and Eton's Baldwin Bridge Trust. The vouchers were to be redeemed at the village grocery, Eton's grocery or pharmacy. (Some details of the afore mentioned trust fund I find so interesting that I will try to impart some of the facts in this article.) The village school invited 'seniors' to their Christmas functions, and undoubtedly there were other welcoming activities by the three churches and organisations. In this era of 'always in a hurry, with no time for involvement' it is right to acknowledge this abundance of seasonal kindness. 

To the best of my village memories of years before WW2 there was very little such generosity apart from the Baldwin Bridge Trust and immediate neighbours. Outpourings of goodwill were perhaps toward the young, and this mostly through Sunday Schools or choir. For a few years from 1955 some boys from the village Youth Club collected wood and chopped up logs for delivery to the older residents. This was still at a time when central heating was not available to all, and with most homes having open fires. One year. over 11,000 logs were chopped and delivered, and letters of 'thank you' received sixty years ago are still around. This received public acclaim, and the club was awarded the Saturday Hospital Fund Cup. Club girls were always on hand with cups of tea for the workers. Eton Urban Council and the College notified the club when tree boughs were available, but this was expecting too much when they said a large elm had fallen at Black Potts (Datchet Road). A few years later the Youth Club was delivering Christmas goodies to some of the village veterans, causing one to reflect that since the mid 1900's there has often been a generous giving. 

Returning to Pote/Benwell/Simpson Trust it is perhaps necessary to reflect on circumstances of long since past, and the early years of the Baldwin Bridge. There is no evidence to my knowledge of why it is known as Baldwin's or Barnes Pool Bridge. History tells us there was a bridge in Eton hundreds of years ago. The  place of Eton had water courses from and to the Thames, and the road from the north (now Slough); although only a muddy track, had to cross those water courses to get to Windsor. Originally bridges were of wood and needed constant maintenance, as of course the muddy tracks did also. Today the unfamiliar may well ask where is the bridge; or perhaps observe that it seems an elaborate bridge doing very little. Not so, as it spans a substantial stream, or 'rivulet', that left the Thames just west of the Eton Brocas, flowing up Meadow Lane, where it is now piped under the road; and on through Eton's Barnes Pool; and back to the river. 

With today's lower water table, and much silting, the flow is not what it once was. Even in my time as a pupil of Eton Porny School in the 1930's, the Headmaster often gave a seasonal warning of not being tempted onto the ice covered pool to retrieve coins that the College Boys tossed on to the ice In the hope of seeing a few soakings. Upkeep and repairs to the bridge have depended on a trust fund that, through much generosity and legacies, established properties that produced a regular income. Bridge maintenance is the prime concern of the Trust, and in times of a surplus income, other deserving Eton causes have been generously financed by that Trust through its twelve local trustees, chaired by their elected Bridgemaster. In the 17th century a brick structure replaced the oft repaired wood, and in 1883 this was duly replaced by an iron bridge. 

Now the Pote, Benwell and Simpson Trust. Just as those early bridges needed constant attention, so did the highways. Without national financial support the responsibility for maintenance was always a local one. Again this needed generous support, and invariably more than was given, until slowly a series of what came to be known as 'Turnpikes' were established along stretches of major roads. All highways had become in a terrible state and in the mid-16th century an Act was introduced requiring all parishes to maintain their section of the roads with obligatory labour of four to six days for all male residents, using their own tools, carts and horses as necessary. This was not a satisfactory scheme, and about a hundred years later the first 'Turnpikes' were sanctioned. In practice this required a number of wealthier persons forming a trust and having the authority to improve and maintain a particular stretch of road and to charge for the use of that stretch. It perhaps took decades for an entire highway to become covered by the Turnpiked lengths. The Bath Road from London had its first turnpike in 1707 but it was 1756 before it was completely extended. 

Our story concerns the Colnbrook Turnpike Trust that was the fifth of twelve Bath Road Turnpikes. It was first sanctioned in 1727 and was responsible for the road between Cranford and Maidenhead Bridge, passing through Slough. After becoming established they were persuaded to undertake extending their responsibility, to cover the Slough to Eton road. Among the Colnbrook trustees were Joseph Pote, a local antiquarian bookseller and Joseph Benwell a draper. Both men were of some standing as Baldwin Bridge trustees and either had or would be Bridgemaster (1783 and 1762 respectively). 

The Colnbrook Turnpike held regular meetings at one of a small number of inns and customarily concluded with a dinner, which some may think was a feast. In March 1773 the meeting was held at an inn by Slough's Salt Hill. The meal starting with soup, then fresh water fish of pike, perch and eel, fowl, bacon and vegetable, cutlet of veal, pig's ear ragout, mutton and salad, lamb and cucumber, crawfish, sweet, Madeira wine and port. Apart from Joseph Pote all the diners were taken ill and within a few days at least six had died. At the start of the meal Pote had absented himself because he disliked turtle soup. Some unsavoury characters had been present and it was concluded they had somehow transmitted the cause of the illness and death. Joseph Benwell was among the deceased, and in his will was the bequest of £150 to the poor of Eton. Joseph Pote survived another thirteen years and his will added £50 to that of Mr Benwell, expressing that bread be given to Eton's poor on two specific days of the year. The first being March 29th; the date of that fateful dinner; expressing his wish that praise to the Almighty be chanted in gratitude for his good fortune in 1773. Years later a woman on her deathbed confessed that she had been the wife of the inn keeper at that fateful time, and that a chef from London had been hired to make the turtle soup which he duly did overnight, intending to let it slowly simmer for those hours. Unfortunately he fell asleep and on waking found the fire out and the soup cold. He re-kindled and restored the temperature, but alas the pot was copper and acids had formed a verdigris. The tragedy was not the fault of unsavoury dropouts and even Kings can get it all wrong at cooking, or so we are told of King Arthur and the cakes. The Pote, Benwell and Simpson fund includes a recent donor, Bernard Simpson, again an antiquarian book seller of Eton High Street. 

Today's generous shop vouchers bearing the names of the Pote, Benwell & Simpson Trust together with that of the Baldwin Bridge Trust is obviously much supported by the latter trust.

Submitted by Frank Bond 

Click here to read Our Village April 2017.

This article was originally published in the Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village and is republished with the kind permission of the Eton Wick Village Hall Committee. Click here to go to the Collection page.

Tough Assignment - The 1950's - A Good Decade

The 1950s were good years for the chapel. The number of children attending the Sunday School grew, and within a few years numbers had returned to pre-war strength. Unfortunately, the youth club closed in 1952, partly at least because of its own success which had kept the club a rather closed entity. As the teenagers grew up boyfriends and other new interests and activities brought this part of their lives to an end. The club had failed to attract new younger members. A few years later, however, a junior club was started by Margaret Drake and Edna Harris. The first report suggests it was very a successful venture with a membership of nearly thirty -though an insistence on 'too much' time for prayers and devotional activities was suggested as the reason why membership dropped a little in 1957! The club did not close however, and with a slight adjustment of programme struggled on into the 1960s.

Meanwhile other ideas were being tried. Caravan missions to children in the village met with mixed reactions. Sunday morning breakfasts in the garden at Bryanston, however, were a great success for a few years. A creche was begun in 1954 enabling several mothers of young children to join the sisterhood meetings on Thursday afternoons. A toy service was held in December 1955 -the first of many such services - and the gifts received were taken to Fraton's Nursery at Maidenhead. The following year every child in the nursery received a birthday card and a chocolate egg at Easter.

A party was held for boys from one of Dr Barnado's home and the money collected by chapel members carol singing round the village was given to the National Children's Home Organisation. Cradle Roll services were begun and in 1953 the Sunday School children were taken to London to attend the JMA Golden Medal Meeting. It was a proud day for the chapel and Jean Drake when she received a medal for collecting for ten years. The chapel became the proud possessor of a slide projector bought from the funds of the defunct youth club and this was put to good use by all sections of the chapel. The new Circuit magazine, 'The Link' was an innovation reflecting the regular activity of church business. But perhaps the most important fresh activity of the 1950s for Eton Wick was the revival of class meetings under the name fellowship meetings. Four class leaders were elected -Mrs Chew, Harry Cook, Marjorie Morris and Sylvia Chew -to 'act as "shepherds" to a proportion of the members'. The fortnightly meetings, held in leaders' homes, were chaired by the Minister. They took the form of discussion groups and these meeting became an integral part of chapel life in the 1950s. A few people, of course, did not find them to their liking and later in the decade, when the Rev. Leslie Hall was Minister, the fellowship meetings alternated with mid-week services.

In 1952 the debt incurred by the redecoration of the chapel was at last paid off, a donation from Mr Russell Smith of Cricklewood, London, clearing the final outstanding amount. It was then resolved that the redecoration of the Tough Memorial Hall should go ahead. Two years later thoughts of the trustees turned to the possibility of connecting the chapel to main drainage and at the same time enlarging the schoolroom once again. Work began the next year. The wall between the toilets at the rear of the Hall was demolished and the kitchen extended. New toilets were built. It was a far more modest extension than that of 1935 and much of the necessary money was raised through grants and donations. St Mark's Womens Fellowship of Maidenhead presented a pageant, raising £11 which was donated to the extension fund. Queen Street Church, Maidenhead gave some £30 and amongst those that generously gave grants were the Joseph Rank Trust, the General Chapel Fund and Her Majesty the Queen.

At the end of the decade optimism stood high. Membership had now jumped to thirty-five and the Sunday School to an unprecedented 92 (except when the evacuees children swelled the numbers). The chapel now had three of its own local preachers - Daphne Hogg, who had moved to Eton Wick from Windsor, Tom Dally, who also became the organist, and Helen Banham. The chapel was especially proud of Helen for she had first found her faith in the Sunday School. She recalled her days as a toddler in the infant class to the fascination of the children in the present Sunday School when she preached at the opening of our centenary year.

The Eton Wick History Group is most grateful for the kind permission given by the Eton Wick Methodist Chapel to republish this history, Tough Assignment on this website.

Tough Assignment - Changing Attitudes 1966-1986

The changes did not begin in 1966 - they had already started several years back when the first discussions took place over the question of Anglican and Methodist Union. In the village there was even talk of a new, shared church, but only one joint event actually occurred that first year, a carol service in the church of St John the Baptist, to which members of the chapel were invited. In subsequent years there were to be several occasions when members of both churches shared services especially at Christmas, Covenant and Patronal Festival.

On the 6th of December 1969 a united youth club was launched. Their first meeting was held in the Memorial Hall with Dennis Nelson as the Methodist leader, but like the other youth clubs started in earlier years, this was also destined to last only a short time and the number of Methodist youngsters who joined was disappointingly small. The chapel's commitment to youth work, however, remained strong and throughout the 1970s a few young people from the chapel attended the annual youth weekends arranged by the Circuit. The good relationship between the chapel and the Church of England has grown and encompassed also the Roman Catholic Church of St. Gilbert. On a very practical level, the three village churches have accepted joint responsibility for the churchyard and contribute to the fund set up for its maintenance.

Meanwhile the chapel Sunday School was not doing very well. The numbers were still falling, as they were nationally. From 42 children in 1967 they had dropped to a mere 33 by 1975. The following year brought a small influx when the Church of England Sunday School closed. History had turned full circle. Who could have envisaged this a hundred years ago when the Rev. Keating tried to shut Mrs Tough's first small Sunday School held in the Iron Room? The pattern of Sunday School 'life, however, had changed. Numbers fluctuated and in some years, there was a very pleasing number of younger ones, but few stayed beyond the junior stage despite more attempts at mid-week youth club activities. Scripture examinations ceased to be taken in the 1970s and the Sunday School anniversaries which were great Sunday and weekday events in the 1960s (as the scholars proudly recited or sang to the congregation the poems and hymns they had learnt) were gradually phased out. More encouraging were the family services, held once a month, which brought the parents of many of the younger scholars to the chapel.

The introduction of the Mums and Tots Group in 1985 was a new venture, and though Mrs Tough would probably not have used these words, undoubtedly, she would have approved. The 5.50 club was founded in 1982 and is aptly named as its teenage members meet at 10 minutes to 6 each Sunday evening for half an hour of discussion with Mr and Mrs Wigmore. 

1976 brought an unprecedented change in the organisation of chapel affairs when an Act of Parliament extinguished the Methodist Church trusts and replaced them with Church Councils. No longer was the fabric of the chapel to be the responsibility of the old-style trustees and their last meeting was held on the 10th November of that year. The change-over became known as restructuring with Eton Wick subject to the rules laid down for churches with less than sixty members. The change took place gradually, and in fact the Church Council had already come into being two years earlier, replacing the Leaders' Meetings. From 1976 the Council took on the responsibility of chapel maintenance and from this date concern for the chapel building became the duty of the Eton Wick Church Council, rather than that of trustees, who had always included people from other churches and chapels in the Circuit. It was quite a heavy burden to take on, for the chapel was now ninety years old and showing its age in spite of all the loving care that had been expended upon it. Membership had now risen to 39, but even if growth was still slow, at least the ability to raise money was still one of the notable features of the chapel.

Year by year the minute books tell of the Council's attention to the needs of the chapel - new service books, windows, tables, chairs, repairs to the roof, to the floor, guttering, rewiring - the list is endless and so is the need to raise more money. Coffee mornings, jumble sales, weekly subscriptions, saving boxes, bring and buy sales - these are the usual methods of collecting money and there is nothing very special about any of them, only the amounts collected. The chapel really has a very remarkable record in this direction.

Although a considerable proportion of the money has been used for the chapel, the greater part in most years has been destined for the work of the Methodist Church at home and abroad. The Overseas and Home Missions, JMA and Women's Work remain important, but there is now also a greater awareness of other needs, such as international disasters, poverty in inner city areas and the changing role of the missionary. Since the 1970s money has been regularly sent to the Methodist Relief Fund as well as to individual disaster funds, and the Christian Aid envelopes have been distributed and collected every year. In 1978 and '79 money was given to help modernise International House in London which is used by overseas missionary students who come to study in this country. In 1983 the Methodist Conference initiated the Mission Alongside the Poor Fund whereby it was hoped that the Methodist Church would raise £l million within five years to help the most needy areas in this country. This is another fund to which the chapel now regularly contributes. A hundred years ago Mr Lodge, who chaired the first meeting at the chapel, remarked that Methodists were expected to give in both time and money. Clearly this has not changed. Several times Eton Wick has been the third largest collector for Overseas Missions in the Circuit and top of the list when the amount raised was calculated per capita. Not for nothing did one Minister call Eton Wick 'the most generous chapel in the Circuit'. 

In 1985 the Circuit, in common with most other Circuits in the country, recommended the adoption of a new hymn book, 'Hymns and Psalms', but in this matter the members communion stewards, and the poor or benevolent fund ceased to be kept separate from the general chapel fund. Social responsibility and community care, however, are still regular items on the agenda and reflect the chapel's concern-for the community outside the chapel as well as within. Outreach is the new word describing the churches efforts to reach out and influence those who are not yet committed Christians. The word gives a different idea of what is being attempted, and indeed the means and ways are different, but sometimes it is difficult not to reflect on Mrs Tough and her efforts to bring people to Salvation.

The restructured Methodist Society now functions on a well documented and all too familiar set of plans and reports which reveal a variety of programmes and activities covering talks, demonstrations, visits, outings, Fundays, special services, anniversaries, Christmas and Easter festivals and Harvest thanksgiving. The calendar-of events both locally and within the circuit is full and extensive and the corporate sprit is high.

The Eton Wick History Group is most grateful for the kind permission given by the Eton Wick Methodist Chapel to republish this history, Tough Assignment on this website.